Air Is a Family Affair

Despite the rain, families came out today to demand clean air. The particular issue is the discovery that there are dangerous concentrations of cadmium and arsenic in the air of Southeast Portland, near some glass manufacturing companies and a pre-school where moss samples show high levels of toxic chemicals. It appears that the US Department of Environmental Quality has known about this for over a year and never enforced the laws that would prevent it nor alerted the community to the danger. Today’s demonstration by eastportlandair.org included boxes of vegetables grown in community gardens in the toxic air zone. The following Menu was passed out to all who attended the demonstration:

The DEQ Café Menu

Hexavalent has browns w/ shredded chromium carrots
Grilled arsenic asparagus
Cadmium-laced cauliflower florets
Neurotoxin tartar
DEQ quiche
Skin rash risotto
Pollution poutine
Loophole lemon custard
Coconut crony crème pie